Darshan: A Novel

I just finished reading Darshan, and it was amazing! As a Sikh American I was able to relate to the characters, the culture, and the patriarchical family structure. The way that Chima describes everything about the Punjabi culture seemed very authentic to me. It was easy to understand Baba Singh's anger when his family was cheated out of their land, and Chima somehow found a way to make the reader empathize with the character even when he committed such a serious crime. The fact that he carries this guilt with him for the rest of his life makes him tolerable, even while he puts his family through so much strife.Chima did a great job with all of the different story lines, and there were always things that were unexpected which kept things interesting. The way that things turned out with Mohan, Livleen, and Navpreet was very different then I would have thought, but it was all believable. And it showed a lot of understanding on Chima's part of how humans harbor emotions, how we hold certain beliefs about ourselves, and how we act out in anger against others when really we are hurting inside. Overall I enjoyed reading the book, I found myself thinking about the characters during random parts of my day, and I was eager to return back to the book and continue reading.

Darshan - a fast moving story if you are interested in history, immigrants, culture and personal struggles. Chima is taking us through 3 countries,3 generations of guilt and cultures. Does her hero finally free of guilt? Chima's descriptive scenes, woven historical facts meshed with story line, symbolic dreams and untold details make this book you don't want to put down until the end, especially the last 100 pages. Ii skimmed through the last 100 pages and realized at the end that I missed something. So I went back to catch up. The following quote caught my attention since they exactly reflect first generation and second generation thoughts of Indian immigrants. One is caught in family and society and other chasing their own dreams ."We give ,dad. Me and Anand. A lot. You just never notice because you always want more, because you expect something different. We're us. We aren't you."

"Darshan" is a magnificent read by a new author who is destined to become a prolific, best-selling writer. It is a deeply moving novel derived from the author's family history. It explores the themes of loyalty, love, betrayal and finally redemption across generations from it's beginnings in India, on to Fiji and finally to the United States. It is beautifully written and filled with vivid descriptions. The story is so captivating that you will not want to put it down. This epic novel will capture and maintain your interest throughout. It is a meaningful, haunting story that will remain with you for a long, long time. You will not easily forget Darshan.

Chima has written a book that held my interest from the first page to the last. It was the detail of the characters and the places that made this book come alive for me. I didn't want the book to end. I look forward to Chima's next book as I believe she is a rising star.

fascinating view of assimilation